How Your Brand Can Appear in AI Search Results

The way people search for information is shifting dramatically.

People aren't just Googling anymore - they're asking ChatGPT and Gemini for answers. And the numbers are staggering: 13 million U.S. adults primarily used AI tools for online searches in 2023. By 2027? That number is projected to hit 90 million.

Let that sink in. We're looking at a 7x jump in just four years.

And guess what? Most brands are nowhere to be found in these AI-generated answers.

Think about it. When was the last time you checked what ChatGPT says about your brand? Or your competitors? Try it now. Ask it about the best solutions in your industry. The answers might surprise you - or worse, your brand might not show up at all.

This is how people are making decisions now. When someone asks an AI tool a question, they trust the answer. If your brand shows up in that response, you instantly gain authority. If it doesn't... well, your brand gets left out while AI tools suggest your competitors.

So why aren't more brands showing up in these AI answers?

It's not because they don't want to. And it's definitely not because they don't understand AI's importance. Most marketing teams get that AI is reshaping how people find and choose products. Yet, very few brands are actively working on this.

Let me tell you why.

Why Most Marketers Aren't Jumping on AI Visibility

First, marketers are stuck in the "spend money, see results" mindset. And honestly, it makes sense. If you're a CMO, you love paid media because it's predictable.

• Paid ads: Spend $10k → Get 2,000 clicks → 400 leads → 40 sales
• AI visibility: No immediate metrics, but potential for long-term authority

AI visibility is a different game entirely. It can take up to 6-9 months before your brand consistently shows up in AI responses. Try explaining that timeline to a CEO who wants results this quarter.

Second, nobody knows the rules yet. With SEO, you have keywords to target and rankings to track. With paid ads, you have bidding strategies and conversion metrics. But AI visibility? There's no ranking system. No keywords to bid on. No immediate metrics to show your boss.

Third - and this is the big one - measurement is unclear. CMOs are used to clean, pretty reports showing exact ROI. "We spent X, got Y leads, and made Z in revenue." But how do you measure the impact of showing up in AI answers? When someone asks ChatGPT about solutions in your industry and picks your brand because you were mentioned... how do you track that?

But this mess is actually a massive opportunity…

While everyone else is paralyzed by these challenges, the window is wide open for brands willing to act now. Think about the early days of SEO, when only a handful of companies took it seriously. Those early movers? They're still dominating search results today.

The same thing is happening with AI visibility right now. And the best part? We already understand how it works.

Let me show you what's really happening inside these AI tools.

How AI Visibility Really Works

AI tools don't function like search engines. They don't rank pages, at least not the way Google does. They don't care about backlinks. What they care about is patterns.

These models have processed billions of pages on the internet and learned to recognize which words/entities/concepts tend to appear together in credible contexts.

Let me make this super concrete:

• When you use Google Search, the algorithm analyzes individual web pages and ranks them based on various factors like relevance, quality, and authority.
• When you ask ChatGPT something, it draws upon patterns in vast amounts of text data to generate a response. It doesn't search individual sources in real-time, but rather uses its training to predict likely and coherent sequences of words.

You can't just optimize a single page and expect to show up in AI responses. Instead, you need your brand to consistently appear next to relevant industry terms across many credible sources.

Say you sell project management software. If your brand name consistently appears near phrases like "agile methodology," "team collaboration," and "deadline management" across multiple trusted sources, AI tools start recognizing the connection.

So when someone asks, "What's the best project management tool for agile teams?", your brand is much more likely to be included.

But AI models don't treat all information the same. While AI models are trained on a vast range of data, the information they present in their responses is often drawn from and aligns with sources like:

• News websites
• Industry publications
• Professional media outlets
• Academic journals and papers
• Credible business websites

This is why press coverage is so powerful for AI visibility. When your brand gets mentioned in Business Insider or Yahoo Finance, it carries more weight than typical paid advertising.

Of course, there are other ways to build AI visibility.

You could reach out to journalists one by one, hoping they find your pitch newsworthy enough to cover. It works—sometimes. But getting consistent media placements is time-consuming, and there are no guarantees.

You could also publish blog posts on your own website, crafting in-depth content around your brand and industry. But unless your domain authority is already high, AI models may not prioritize your site as a credible source.

Even guest posting on industry blogs or contributing to forums can help, but these efforts take significant time and ongoing effort to gain traction. So, what’s the simpler, more scalable solution? The answer is press release distribution.

Why Press Releases Are Perfect for AI Visibility

Think about what a press release does: It puts your brand name and key industry terms into hundreds of credible news outlets at the same time. Each release creates dozens of mentions that reinforce those critical word patterns we talked about.

But just issuing a press release isn’t enough. The strategy has to be deliberate and consistent. You need:

1. Consistent distribution - One press release won't move the needle. You need regular mentions over time.
2. Strategic word placement - Your brand needs to consistently appear near the terms you want to be associated with.
3. Wide reach across credible outlets - The more authoritative sources carrying your message, the stronger the pattern becomes.

We’ve seen this work time and time again. Brands that consistently distribute press releases not only gain traditional media exposure but also strengthen their presence in AI-generated answers.

Our clients have seen measurable improvements in how often they appear in AI-generated responses after implementing a structured press release strategy:

Dancing Disc, a company specializing in dance training equipment, announced its latest design improvements through a Business Insider press release. When users queried about Dancing Disc’s history and innovations in AI tools like Gemini, their press coverage was recognized as a credible source, reinforcing the brand’s position in AI-generated answers.

NETA Auto, an electric vehicle manufacturer, expanded its global operations by launching a new production facility in Indonesia.

Their press release, syndicated through Business Insider and Yahoo Finance, provided AI models with authoritative data points on NETA's market presence, workforce investment, and production scale. When users searched about NETA Auto’s global expansion, AI tools pulled insights directly from these trusted media sources.

SurgeGraph, an AI-powered SEO tool provider, launched its latest product, SurgeGraph Vertex. Their Yahoo Finance press release highlighted key product features, such as AI-driven content optimization and integrated SEO tools.

With multiple citations in reputable media outlets, SurgeGraph’s technology became more frequently referenced in AI-generated search responses about advanced SEO tools.

ChristianSteven Software, a leader in business automation tools, leveraged a Yahoo Finance press release to showcase its latest software update for report scheduling. This strategic placement allowed AI search tools like Perplexity AI to pull verified details from trusted sources, ensuring the brand appeared in discussions related to business automation solutions.

As you can see, the mechanism is clear from our client examples - when press releases are syndicated through trusted outlets like Business Insider and Yahoo Finance, AI systems begin to recognize and reference them.

Each of these brands saw an increase in AI-driven visibility because their press releases created authoritative citations that AI models referenced when answering relevant queries.

But success isn't just about volume - it's about building a consistent narrative through legitimate news channels. When AI models encounter your brand repeatedly across established media outlets, they're more likely to surface your information in relevant searches.

Think of it as positioning your brand in the AI conversation. Whether someone's asking about electric vehicles, SEO tools, or business software, you want your brand to be a natural part of the answer. And that happens through strategic, consistent press release distribution.

The shift to AI-powered search isn't a future possibility—it's happening now. The brands that establish their presence in trusted news sources today will be the ones that appear in AI-generated answers tomorrow.

Will yours be one of them?

If you’re looking to build AI visibility for your brand, we are happy to help. Get in touch with us today and secure your brand’s AI presence in AI-generated answers.